Jealous
by Artemis Chick
Summary: Space Sheriff Shaider-Uchuu Keiji Shaider Annie's jealousy towards Vivian leads to one conclusion. Takes place after Episode 41 Direct Attack on Female Journalist .


**A/N: I know, this was never discussed in the TV series, but I'd like to think of this as a possibility. This is my first English fanfic about **_**Space Sheriff Shaider (Uchuu Keiji Shaider) **_**to be published here in FF. I wrote some in Filipino, because**_** Shaider**_** was very popular in my country during the early 90's. FYI: Vivian is a real character in the series. She's the daughter of the mayor of Planet Bird. **

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Just borrowing Dai and Annie for this one-shot. **

**Summary: **Annie's jealousy towards Vivian leads to one conclusion. Takes place after Episode 41 (Attack on the Female Journalist) of _Shaider. _

**JEALOUS**

The next day, Dai noticed that Annie ignored him the entire time they were together at the Vavilos. She seemed to be in a grumpy mood, which was unlike her. Add to that, she would look at him glaringly if they happened to look at each other. Dai wondered if it had something to do with Vivian and the time they spent at the theme park yesterday.

"Hi Annie," Dai greeted her cheerfully the moment she entered the pilot's cockpit. As she sat down beside him, she gave him a strange look. "Why are you greeting me? We've been together the whole time, and now you're saying 'hi' to me".

"Why, what's the matter if I greet you now?" Dai asked, frowning.

"You were with me the whole time, and now, you're talking to me. What's the matter with you?"

"You seemed to be in a bad mood, that's why I'm not talking to you," he pointed out. "Does it have something to do with Vivian?" He had noticed that she was already like that since yesterday.

At the sound of her name, Annie stood up and was in the act of walking out on him. She looked kind of offended. "Hey, where are you going?" Dai asked.

Annie turned around and faked a smile at him. "I'll just patrol in the city," she answered coolly. "And to be honest, I'm fine. Thanks for the concern." She left in a huff. As Dai watched her, he shook his head, smiling to himself. She was obviously jealous, no thanks to Vivian.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Later that afternoon, Annie drove through the streets of Tokyo as she patrolled around the city. She was glad to be out of Dai's sight. She was really annoyed with him, and she couldn't explain why. Her blood boiled at the thought of him and Vivian together. The scenes from yesterday remained fresh in her mind. During that time, Vivian gushed over Dai and wrapped her arms around him like a leech. Both of them rode the carousel and the Ferris wheel while Annie stayed behind, feeling like a third wheel. She gritted her teeth at the thought of it and tried not to think about it as she concentrated on her driving.

She happened to drive by a coffee shop, and decided to go for a break. Annie hopped out of her yellow Mazda and walked through the door. She was about to take her order at the counter when she caught two familiar-looking people from the corner of her eye. She shifted her sights to that direction, and saw Dai together with Vivian, seated at a table for two, having coffee. It looked like they were having an animated conversation; Dai was laughing over something Vivian said. Annie had never seen him this happy since she was assigned to be with him.

"Miss, can I take your order?" the waiter at the counter asked. Annie snapped out of her thoughts and didn't know what to do. A part of her wanted to ran away from the scene, but at the same time, her curiosity got the best of her. She decided to check out on them.

"I'll have coffee with milk," she told the waiter smilingly. He left and soon returned with her order. She paid for it and walked towards a place discreet from Dai's view. From that distance, she could still see them clearly as they talked and laughed. She felt like being pierced with a thousand swords seeing him enjoying himself with another girl.

She sipped her coffee, and picked up a glossy magazine left on her table. She made sure her face was covered as she peeked through the top of the magazine. She saw Vivian pinch his cheek, and Dai didn't seemed to mind it one bit. Annie wanted to strangle him that very moment. _How long were they together? _She wondered. Did Vivian herself asked him out, or did Commander Quo, their boss, asked him to do this? It was agonizing for her to watch them together. Why can't she do the same for him?

_I'm not jealous, _Annie thought as she sipped the rest of the coffee she ordered. She knew he was a friend to him, and that's all they could ever be. She can't imagine her feelings going beyond that. Even if she thought of it before, she reminded herself not to nurture those thoughts. _Sweet thoughts are never guarantees_. She didn't want her personal agenda to taint their professional relationship. Besides, she was not sure if he felt the same for her.

From afar, she saw Dai and Vivian stood up. They were done with their coffee break. Annie covered her face with the magazine as she peeked. She saw them walk out the door, with Vivian clutching his arm, as if they were a couple. _Well, look at that. _She shot dagger looks behind their backs as they disappeared from her sight. She didn't want to think anymore what they will do next or where they will go.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The following day, Annie was alone at the cockpit when Dai entered. She pretended not to know about his "date" with Vivian as she asked, "Where were you yesterday?"

Dai smiled as he answered, "I was out patrolling." He sat down beside her.

"Really?" she asked in disbelief. "Why didn't you ask me to do it with you?"

"I was on a different route. You didn't tell me about your route. Too bad, we should have done it together."

"I tried to contact you the whole time but you didn't answer," she said, pretending. "Is something wrong with your signal?" She was now getting to the bottom of things as she rode along with his alibi.

Dai stewed in his seat as he thought of something to say. "Don't worry, I'll have it fixed, I mean, my device." Silence fell upon them as he noticed Annie with a suspecting stare at him. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me that way?"

"Why, is it bad for me to ask?" she shot back.

"You're being suspicious that I'm lying," he said calmly. But his reaction was wrong; it made Annie flare up with anger.

"Did I say that you're lying? You said that!" she exclaimed. "Why are you so guilty? Don't tell me you're with Vivian."

Dai had no choice but to tell her the truth. "To confirm your suspicion, yes, I was with her. Commander Quo asked me to send her off to Planet Bird. But before that, she asked me to tour her around the city."

"And you gave in to her?"

"I can't help it, she was so pushy." Dai wanted the earth to swallow him up; Annie had never embarrassed him in this way. "The truth is I don't want to tell you about this, because I know you'll get mad at me."

"I know all about it. I was there yesterday at the coffee shop and I saw both of you. I can tell you liked her very much, huh?" she stated sarcastically. "Why didn't you tell me that there's something going on between you and Vivian?"

"You've been spying on us?" Dai asked, flabbergasted. "Annie… I…" He was about to explain everything, but she cut him off.

"You're my friend, so I should know. You don't have to be so secretive about it."

"Nothing's going on between us!" he exclaimed. "Why are you jealous?"

Annie was speechless. She felt as if someone had hit her on the head with a hammer. "Jealous?" She laughed mockingly. "I'm not jealous!" At this point, both of them lost control of their temper.

"If you're not jealous, why are you reacting like that? I told you, we're not an item!" Dai said defensively.

"I said I'm not jealous!" Annie cried out loudly. "Why didn't you told me about her, even if she's just your friend?!" She looked hurt with what he did. Dai understood her point and wanted to apologize, but not a word came out of his mouth. He watched as she walked out on him again. She couldn't take this anymore, as she was starting to look obvious. She didn't want him to see the obvious.

He was right. She was indeed jealous of Vivian, of her and Dai together. Annie walked further away from the pilot's cockpit. She reached the end of the corridor and leaned back against the wall, slumping down.

She gulped hard, trying not to cry. It was the first time she got angry with Shaider, no, with Dai Sawamura. She can't understand why she was feeling so furious at Vivian, even if the girl did nothing wrong against her. The only thing is that she was madly infatuated with Dai. If she thought of him as a friend, then she's not supposed to feel this way. She's supposed to be happy for him, now that he's given a chance to find a love prospect. But instead, she felt threatened.

He was a close friend to her, whom she swore to fight alongside with him against the forces of Fuma. She thought that's all he'll ever be to her. But now, she started to feel something that she thought was impossible. It awakened in her heart, the feeling she was trying to avoid and take control of. She now looked at him in a different light. She never noticed how good-looking he was, until now. Everything about him affected her. She loved the way he smiled at her, how her hand would accidentally brush with his hand, how she felt butterflies in her stomach every time she was left alone with him. She never thought it'll end up like this.

Then it struck her. She now realized what all of this meant.

_It can't be. This is crazy. _She buried her face in her arms, not knowing what to do, feeling so alone. She didn't want to let him know about this. Why did these feelings have to bother her? Why does the heart always have to outweigh the mind?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Back in Tokyo, Dai patrolled for the rest of the day and then decided to rest. He parked his Suzuki jeep near a river. Dai hopped out and sat on the grassy riverbank. He lay down and took out his wallet. He flipped it open. Annie's picture smiled back at him. He had been keeping that in his wallet for a long time, and he found himself looking at that picture more often. Seeing her smile gave him courage to fight and defeat the evil forces.

_She looks so cute getting jealous. _He was flattered with it, but at the same time, he felt sorry that he made her angry at him. He acted too sweet around Vivian. He was glad that she finally returned to her home planet. It was obvious to him that she liked him a lot, but he made it clear with her that he cannot reciprocate her feelings. _It's okay, _she told him, trying to smile. _I can find someone else. It's just a crush. It'll fade away. I'm glad to have known you, Dai. _She hugged him for the last time before she boarded the plane back to Planet Bird.

He promised himself to make it up to Annie one of these days. Maybe treating her out will made her feel better.

"Dai." He heard her behind him as she walked towards his direction. He hurriedly kept his wallet inside his pocket as he turned his head to see her. "Sit down," he told her smilingly. Annie smiled back at him as she sat beside him. "I never expected to see you here."

"So did I. Done with your patrolling?"

"Yes." She fell quiet and spoke up after a moment. "About this morning, I'm really sorry for being so paranoid," she apologized softly. "I know I have no right to feel that way."

"It's okay. I understand." He looked at her with concern. "We've been friends for a long time, and I know why you felt that way towards Vivian."

_It's not because of that. _Can't he see that she was starting to feel more than that for him? She appreciated his understanding, but it only made her feel frustrated. "Yeah. I never saw a girl go crazy over you. Shaider is such a heartthrob," she joked.

"She's bound to get over me soon, when she finds someone who looks better than me".

Both of them fell back on the grass, lying down beside each other. Things were back to the way they used to be, and Annie was glad about it. She was glad to have him as a friend. But her state of heart was another matter. She can still keep it a secret, but for how long? She knew she can't hide this forever. What if he finds out? The only hope she can hold on to is that he might feel the same way too. For now, all she can think of is to continue their mission against Fuma's empire. Matters of the heart will have to take a backseat.

Dai and Annie smiled at each other. Unknown to both of them, they were keeping the biggest, sweetest secret in the world. If only she knew about the picture of her that Dai kept in his wallet. At the back of it, he wrote:

_Annie,_

_You're the only girl for me. After we win this battle, I'll make you mine. _

_-Dai Sawamura _

-Fin-

**Okay, it's done! I tried not to make it sound too mushy. I don't know where to categorize this, so I'll put this under Misc. TV Shows (They still don't have a category yet for Metal Heroes Series). For those of you familiar with **_**Shaider, **_**thanks for dropping by to read this! RR please! Thanks. **


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